A Few Good Leaks Regarding Windows 8 and Nokia

Recently Microsoft announced the Windows Phone 8 launch event they will be holding in conjunction with Nokia on September 5. While we have known for a good minute now that the market is probably going to be blessed with the first Nokia Lumia Windows 8 device that day, what we are just learning is that two more smartphones may be revealed as well.

NEW DEVICES

Rumor has it that the high-end “Phi” phone and the mid-range device “Arrow” (both are codenames, and both will be part of the Lumia line) will be brought into the light that same say. Both handsets will be carried by At&T, but the Arrow will be carried by T-Mobile as well). And the gossip inside the gossip is that Verizon will be taking a stab at its own version of the Arrow which is now temporarily nicknamed the Atlas.

The Phi phone will allegedly be sporting a 4.7-inch display and be slimmer than Lumia’s 800 and 900 series – and suggestions have leaked that the Phi’s screen will have a “large curved glass display” and a polycarbonate body.

GAMING GOSSIP

Also weaving its way through the tech grapevine is that, while Windows 7 never did much in the way of gaming, Windows 8 has an alternative launching pad in the form of support of Unity Technologies. CEO of that company, David Helgason, has broadcasted his advocacy for the big 8 and the video game-development tool pioneered by his company will probably be incorporated into Windows 8 as well as Windows Phone 8. http://unity3d.com/company/

But wait, there’s more!

Did you know that the original Xbox got its name from the “DirectX Box” game console that Microsoft had, at one point planned to develop in an effort to join the growing console competition? Well, Microsoft’s first stab at the entertainment market floundered, it nonetheless paved the way for the Xbox 360 which, everybody knows, has been nothing short of a runaway success.

Microsoft has decided to go back to its roots, rejuvenate DirectX and integrate it into Windows Phone. What exactly is DirectX? It is a set of proprietary APIs that game developers can use to build fabtastic games for the Windows platform. If you’ve ever played games on a Mac, you probably agree that the experience is superior on a Windows PC – and DirectX is the reason why. Microsoft actually built the Xbox in order to deliver DirectX to the world of home gaming – and now it’s bringing the same magic to mobile world.